Second Bulgarian Empire

The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian empire which existed from 1185 to 1396, with Tarnovo serving as its capital. It was founded by Peter IV of Bulgaria in 1185 as the result of an anti-Byzantine uprising, during which the Cumans became an important part of the Bulgarian army. When Peter IV failed to capture the First Bulgarian Empire's capital of Preslav, he made Tarnovo its capital. In 1205, Emperor Kaloyan of Bulgaria defeated the Latin Empire in the Battle of Adrianople, and his nephew Ivan Asen II defeated the Despotate of Epirus and made Bulgaria a regional power again. During his reign, Bulgaria spread from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea, but, during the late 13th century, the empire declined due to constant invasions by the Mongol Empire, the Byzantine Empire, Hungary, and the Serbs, and it soon became destabilized and decentralized due to internal conflicts. During the 1380s, the Ottoman Empire invaded Bulgaria, conquering the present-day capital of Sofia by 1385. In 1393, the Ottomans took Tarnovo after a three-month siege, followed by Nicopolis in 1395; following the 1396 Battle of Nicopolis, the last Bulgarian stronghold of Vidin fell to the Turks, ending the Second Bulgarian Empire.